Daily Archives: 19. August 2016


19.08.2016 - 21:36 [ German Foreign Policy ]

Deutsches Kriegs-Know-how

Gleichzeitig zeigt sich Berlin gänzlich unempfindlich gegenüber Berichten, in denen die kurdische Regionalregierung im Nordirak schwerer Menschenrechtsverletzungen beschuldigt wird; in Rede stehen unter anderem die Misshandlung gefangener Kämpfer des IS/Daesh und der Betrieb von Foltergefängnissen. Auf entsprechende parlamentarische Anfragen erklärt die Bundesregierung ausweichend, ihr lägen hierzu „keine Informationen“ vor. Passend dazu weigert sich Berlin, Angehörige des IS völkerrechtlich als Kombattanten anzuerkennen; wörtlich heißt es: „Der Kriegsgefangenenstatus, wie er im III. Genfer Abkommen über die Behandlung der Kriegsgefangenen vom 12. August 1949 für den internationalen bewaffneten Konflikt normiert wird, findet in dem in der Region Kurdistan-Irak bestehenden nichtinternationalen bewaffneten Konflikt keine Anwendung.“

19.08.2016 - 21:30 [ German Foreign Policy ]

Massaker ohne Folgen

Ungeachtet der Berichte von neuen Massakern der äthiopischen Repressionskräfte an bis zu 100 Demonstranten setzt die Bundesregierung ihre enge Kooperation mit Äthiopien fort. Wie Menschenrechtsorganisationen am Wochenende bestätigten, haben Polizei und Militär des Landes in den Tagen zuvor bei der blutigen Niederschlagung von Protesten die Zahl der äthiopischen Oppositionellen, die seit Ende 2015 bei Demonstrationen getötet wurden, auf rund 500 erhöht. Proteste aus Berlin, das international gern als Kämpfer für Menschenrechte posiert, sind nicht bekannt. Hintergrund ist die Bereitschaft der äthiopischen Regierung, sich für die Realisierung deutscher Interessen in Ostafrika zur Verfügung zu stellen. Äthiopien, dessen Streitkräfte als die stärksten in Afrika südlich der Sahara gelten, hilft Berlin bei Ordnungsmaßnahmen am Horn von Afrika, vor dessen Küste der zentrale Seeweg aus Asien nach Europa entlangführt. Das Land stellt mehr als 8.000 Militärs für Auslandseinsätze zur Verfügung, vor allem in Somalia. Dafür erhält es umfangreiche Entwicklungshilfe aus der Bundesrepublik – und wird seit mehr als zehn Jahren von jeglicher Kritik an schweren Menschenrechtsverletzungen im Inland freigestellt. Kürzlich hat sogar die „Core Group“ der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz in Addis Abeba getagt.

19.08.2016 - 17:30 [ Verteidigungsministerium der Russischen Föderation ]

Missile ships Zeliony Dol and Serpukhov performed launches of Kalibr cruise missiles against facilities of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist grouping in Syria

Today at 10:55 in the morning, the Zeliony Dol and Serpukhov small-sized missile ships of the Black Sea Fleet during the combat maneuvering performed 3 launches of cruise missiles Kalibr from fire positions in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea against facilities of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist grouping in Syria.

As a result, a command centre and a terrorist base near the Dar-Taaza inhabited area as well as a plant manufacturing mortar munitions and a large depot with armament were destroyed in the Aleppo province.

The objective monitoring data confirmed the elimination of the planned targets.

For the security of civilians, the flight path of the cruise missiles was planned over uninhabited territories.

19.08.2016 - 17:28 [ Legalfutures.co.uk ]

Encryption for law firms

Enter encryption. Applicable to everything from cloud applications to internet browsers to local hard drive to e-mail, encryption is a form of cryptography that is able to scramble and unscramble data via the use of an algorithm. Here’s how to use it.

19.08.2016 - 17:26 [ Winfuture ]

Android 7.0: Die Verteilung soll bereits in wenigen Tagen anlaufen

Am 22. August, also dem nächsten Montag, soll Android 7.0 an die ersten Geräte verteilt werden.

19.08.2016 - 17:25 [ Nashvillechatterclass.com ]

Android 7.0 Nougat – 5 Security Improvements the New OS Brings

With the release of Android 7.0 Nougat seemingly approaching, Google took time to share some of the security-related improvements that the OS is set to bring to the Android ecosystem.

19.08.2016 - 17:24 [ Twitter ]

An update on our efforts to combat violent extremism

While our work is not done, today we are announcing that we have suspended an additional 235,000 accounts for violating our policies related to promotion of terrorism in the six months since our February 2016 post. This brings our overall number of suspensions to 360,000 since the middle of 2015. As noted by numerous third parties, our efforts continue to drive meaningful results, including a significant shift in this type of activity off of Twitter.

19.08.2016 - 17:17 [ Rethink-Wireless.com ]

The death of the tablet – Q2 shipments show crisis in market

The tablet market is on the brink of total implosion, judging by the latest market figures, with only the laptop/tablet hybrid offering some respite, targeted particularly by the Wintel brigade (see separate item on HP).

Global tablet shipments in Q2 2016 came in at 38.7m units, down 12.3% from 44.1m units in the same period last year, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. This is the seventh consecutive quarter or decline.

19.08.2016 - 17:15 [ Gartner ]

Gartner Says Five of Top 10 Worldwide Mobile Phone Vendors Increased Sales in Second Quarter of 2016

„Demand for premium smartphones slowed in the second quarter of 2016 as consumers wait for new hardware launches in the second half of the year,“ said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner. In addition, the decline in sales of „feature phones“ (down 14 per cent) bolstered the decline in overall sales of mobile phones in the second quarter of 2016 (see Table 1).

19.08.2016 - 17:12 [ RT ]

Actor says he impersonated Russian mercenary in Syria for Sky News report

(19.8.2016) “They said we have this information. You simply need to prepare yourself based on that information and make out you were in the military in Syria in a service of a private company,” Agapov told RT.

In the interview, Agapov said he had been told by the clip would be part of a movie. However after getting suspicious Agapov decided to record a conversation with Sparks that supposedly took place in a Moscow hotel. The recording was initially passed to NTV.

19.08.2016 - 17:06 [ Fefe ]

Zu dem „Justice Department says it will end use of private prisons“-Ding vorhin: Das ging zurück auf Recherchen von Mother Jones.

Und was haben sie daran verdient?

„Conservatively, our prison story cost roughly $350,000. The banner ads that appeared in it brought in $5,000, give or take.“

19.08.2016 - 17:00 [ Westernjournalism.com ]

Trump Pulls Very Close To Clinton In Latest Poll

The Donald Trump campaign finally received some good news on the polling front on Thursday, with the USC Dornsife/LA Times daily tracker showing him polling within one point.

According to the poll, Hillary Clinton garners 44 percent support nationwide to Trump’s 43.4 percent.

19.08.2016 - 16:59 [ Newsmax.com ]

Rasmussen Poll: Hillary Leads Trump by 2 Points

The New Jersey-based polling company‘s national telephone and online White House Watch survey of 1,000 likely U.S. voters shows:
– Clinton (Democrat): 41 percent
– Trump (Republican): 39 percent
– Gary Johnson (Libertarian) 9 percent
– Jill Stein (Green Party): 3 percent
– Other candidates: 3 percent
– Undecided: 5 percent

19.08.2016 - 16:58 [ Politico ]

National Pew poll: Clinton leads Trump by 4

Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump is 4 points nationwide, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Thursday that also includes Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

19.08.2016 - 16:57 [ Keep Talking Greece ]

IMF is concerned about aging population in Europe that insists on working & living…

The International Monetary Fund is concerned about the Europeans who insist on living instead of set sail and go meet their creator – thus relief the pensions funds and the public health care system. The population in Europe is aging and this is going to create havoc in economy and a sharp productivity slowdown.

According to new research from four staff members at the International Monetary Fund:

19.08.2016 - 16:56 [ Techdirt ]

With Republicans Backing Away From TPP, Does It Still Have Any Chance?

We‘ve pointed out before how topsy turvy things have become with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement lately, and it seems to be getting even more weird, but not for any good reason. As we‘ve pointed out dozens of times now, actual free trade is a good thing for the world — but the TPP agreement has very, very little to do with free trade. There are certainly some good things in the TPP when it comes to trade, including some stuff on helping protect the free flow of information on the internet, but it is significantly outweighed by numerous problems with the agreement that seem to have little to do with actual free trade and plenty to do with certain industries putting in place protectionist/mercantilist programs that are, in many ways, the opposite of free trade.

19.08.2016 - 15:43 [ Trend ]

Iran, Turkey add Iraq to their field of joint anti-terrorism fight

Iran and Turkey, after having pledged cooperation to fight the critical situations in Syria, are likely to broaden their scope of cooperation into Iraq.

Salim al-Jabouri, speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, will visit Tehran Aug. 20, IRNA news agency quoted from a statement by the Iraqi parliament Aug. 19.

But after the Tehran trip, al-Jabouri is also going to visit Turkey. The news comes as Iran and Turkey have started to boost their ties over the Syrian crisis.

Turkey recently announced intention to work with Iran and Russia to fight terrorism in Syria. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara Aug. 12 and Tehran will be host to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Aug. 24.

19.08.2016 - 15:25 [ soundcloud ]

Drumcode: Various Artists – A-Sides Volume 5 – Drumcode – DC159

Adam Beyer’s Drumcode juggernaut attracts more fans and critical plaudits with each passing year. Holding firm on its future facing ethos, techno’s number one label presents a new volume in its acclaimed A-Sides series with 20 prime tracks to signify its 20th anniversary.

19.08.2016 - 15:14 [ Middle East Eye ]

Being black and Jewish: Ethiopians bear the brunt of Israeli state racism

The idea that we have an external enemy has injected fear into the public consciousness that has constrained Jewish citizens from real protest, because everything else – economy, health care or other civic issues that every normal society confronts – shrinks into insignificance in comparison to the supposed security threat.

19.08.2016 - 15:07 [ Middle East Eye ]

Mauritanian anti-slavery activists jailed for up to 15 years

Thirteen anti-slavery activists in Mauritania were sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison on Thursday, despite criticism of the case against them by international rights groups.

A court in the capital Nouakchott found the 13 – all members of a group fighting hereditary slavery in the west African country – guilty of „use of violence“. But Amnesty International has said they were falsely accused because of their advocacy work.

19.08.2016 - 13:03 [ Hurriyet ]

Turkish FM makes surprise visit to Iran

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made a surprise visit to Iran on Aug. 18, while en route to India for a scheduled official visit, private broadcaster CNNTürk reported on Aug. 19.
Çavuşoğlu’s unannounced stop in neighboring Iran on Aug. 18 came after reports that he was planning to visit following Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s trip to Ankara.

19.08.2016 - 12:58 [ Sputnik ]

„Westen benutzt ‚Jungen von Aleppo‘“: Moskau dementiert Angriff auf Wohnviertel

Nach Angaben des russischen Verteidigungsministeriums stellen Offiziere des russischen Versöhnungszentrums in Aleppo täglich fest, dass Terroristen mit selbstgebauten Raketenwerfern Straßen und Wohnhäuser nahe der humanitären Korridore angriffen. Dies solle Einwohner aus dem Osten Aleppos, die faktisch von den Terroristen als Geiseln genommen worden seien, daran hindern, medizinische und andere Hilfe zu erhalten.

19.08.2016 - 12:56 [ Mondo Weiss ]

‘It’s like we’re born with guns in our hands’: Young Israelis face prison as they resist military conscription

After a total of 155 days inside a cell and over the span of six separate stays in an Israeli military prison, 19-year-old Tair Kaminer was released in July as the longest serving female conscientious objector to the Israeli military service.

Tucked away on a side street off of Tel Aviv’s bustling roads, Tair sits in her family apartment with her 18-year-old friend, Omri Baranes, a fellow objector who served 67 days in Israeli military prison during three separate sentences.

19.08.2016 - 12:55 [ Haaretz ]

Will Marwan Barghouti be the Palestinian Nelson Mandela?

(5.7.2016) Nearly a decade and a half after he began serving multiple life sentences for his role in the killings of the second intifada, Marwan Barghouti is still seen – among most Palestinians, many Israelis and world leaders – as the man who could lead his people to independence. Through a mediator, Barghouti tells Haaretz that he remains a staunch proponent of the two-state solution and that he intends to run for Palestinian president should elections be held.

19.08.2016 - 10:50 [ Portal amerika21.de ]

Kuba setzt sich bei UN für atomwaffenfreie Welt ein

Bei der 68. UN-Vollversammlung hatte die Gemeinschaft lateinamerikanischer und karibischer Staaten (Celac) auf Initiative Kubas für die Vernichtung von Kernwaffen plädiert und sich für ein „universelles und verbindliches Rechtsmittel“ ausgesprochen, „das die Kernwaffen verbietet“. Bei ihrem zweiten Gipfeltreffen in Havanna im Januar 2014 erklärte sich die Celac zu einer „Friedenszone“. Damit verzichtet das Regionalbündnis auf die Nutzung von Atomwaffen und lehnt bei Konflikten jegliche militärische und politische Intervention von außen ab.

19.08.2016 - 10:30 [ Daily Sabah ]

Turkish, Russian, Iranian trilateral coordination to be established on Syria

With U.S. Vice President Joe Biden‘s visit to Turkey on Aug. 24 described as the arbiter to the first meeting of the trilateral coordination group, Bogdanov is reportedly continuing his talks with some opposition groups in Syria until the first week of September. Since Russia, Iran and Turkey have all agreed to maintain Syria‘s territorial integrity, it is expected Russia will suggest a three-step plan.

19.08.2016 - 09:54 [ Military.com ]

S. Korea Holds Largest Artillery Drills Near N. Korea Border

South Korea‘s army on Thursday conducted its largest-ever artillery drills near the tense border with North Korea, but there was no immediate military response from the North.

A total of 300 artillery systems deployed by dozens of military units along the border began firing shells simultaneously in multiple directions on Thursday afternoon, an army official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

19.08.2016 - 09:41 [ Al-Masdar News ]

Syrian Army reinforcements pour into southern Aleppo for next offensive

These Republican Guard reinforcements are expected to help their comrades recapture the Aleppo Artillery Academy and 1070 Al-Hamdaniyah Housing Project in southern Aleppo.

According to local sources in Aleppo City, the Syrian Armed Forces are expected to make another push to recapture the Aleppo Artillery Academy in the next 72 hours; this would be their second major attempt seize this imperative military installation near Al-Ramouseh.

19.08.2016 - 07:52 [ Hurriyet ]

Turkish FM acknowledges Russia, Iran’s ‘crucial role’ in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said achieving a lasting resolution of the crisis in Syria without Russia and Iran would be “impossible,” adding that Ankara would cooperate with both countries on the issue.

“We have repeatedly stated, even in the period of crisis in our relations, that it would be impossible to achieve a lasting resolution in Syria without Russia’s participation. We continue to insist on this. The same can be said about Iran, with which we are also negotiating at the moment,” Çavuşoğlu told Russia’s Sputnik website on Aug. 18.

19.08.2016 - 07:51 [ Süddeutsche ]

Anschläge im Osten der Türkei: Erdoğan wirft Gülen vor, hinter den jüngsten Anschlägen zu stecken

Es gebe keinen Unterschied zwischen der Extremistenmiliz Islamischer Staat, den Gülen-Anhängern und der PKK, sagte Erdoğan. Die „terroristische Gülen-Gruppe“ habe die PKK mit Informationen und geheimdienstlichen Erkenntnissen versorgt.

Die Regierung hält den in den USA lebenden Prediger für den Drahtzieher des versuchten Militärputsches am 15. Juli.

19.08.2016 - 07:42 [ contra-magazin.com ]

Waffen an irakische Kurden: Vertrauen, echt jetzt?

(18.8.2016) Auch wenn die kurdischen Einheiten eine wichtige Rolle bei der Bekämpfung des „Islamischen Staates“ spielen, führen die Waffenlieferungen auch zu einer militärischen Stärkung der Kurdenmilizen, welche sie auch im Zuge einer möglichen Sezession vom Irak einsetzen könnten. Deutschland trägt dazu bei, dass sich die Machtverhältnisse in der Region weiter verändern – und vielleicht auch dazu, dass die Kurden im Norden Iraks bald schon einen eigenen Staat etablieren.

19.08.2016 - 07:34 [ Bundeswehr ]

„Ghosthouse“ und „German Village“ – In 80 Tagen eine neue Trainingswelt

Nordirak, 12.08.2016. Grundidee beider Ertüchtigungsmaßnahmen war es, schnellstmöglich infanteristische Trainingseinrichtungen zu schaffen, die den hiesigen Gegebenheiten entsprechen. Genaue Recherchen und deutsche Gründlichkeit bei der Planung sowie Umsetzung in Zusammenarbeit mit einer irakischen Baufirma ermöglichen nun eine effiziente und professionelle Ausbildung der Peschmerga.